4 Differences Between a Commercial and an Industrial PC

Overview

Choosing the right hardware for your business can be tricky, especially in industries like digital signage and self-service. We've put together a guide to help you navigate the differences between commercial and industrial PCs and find the best fit for your needs.

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Commercial PCs vs Industrial PCs

Both types of computers share similarities in data processing, operations, and hardware components such as motherboards, CPUs, RAM, storage, and I/O ports. However, they serve different purposes and customer segments.

What is a commercial PC?

Meant for individual use in home or office settings with controlled environments.

What is an industrial PC?

Designed for harsh industrial and manufacturing environments like outdoor kiosks, digital signage, AGV forklifts and military devices.

4 Important Characteristics of a Commercial and an Industrial PC

Operational environment

• Commercial PC: Suitable for indoor environments, where the temperature is stable, and the air quality is good. It has built-in fans to cool the unit drawing in air from outside.
• Industrial PC: Designed to be more rugged and durable, and to withstand extreme environmental circumstances. They were built without a fan or inner venting to keep the machines clean.

Advantage of an industrial PC: With a wider temperature range they can operate outdoors in cold or hot weather without overheating or malfunctioning. With the fanless design, they won't draw in contamination and debris from the manufacturing or industrial area.
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Lifespan

• Commercial PC: Developed to be eventually replaced in 2-5 years by users.
• Industrial PC: Designed for 7-10 years of operation, with options for servicing and repairs.

Advantage of an industrial PC: An industrial PC can operate twice as long as its counterpart resulting in lower long-term costs compared to commercial units.

Check our ACS10-TGU Industrial PC Product Sheet

Customization

• Commercial PC: Limited options and I/O (input/output) ports. Not suitable for multiple components and tools to be connected.
• Industrial PC: Highly customizable and has extended I/O options, designed to connect, and operate multiple hardware components.

Advantage of an industrial PC: Supports various hardware components and can be tailored to meet specific software and firmware requirements

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Total cost of ownership

• Commercial PC: Initially lower cost, however, when built into the wrong environment, high repair costs and downtime incur and result in unnecessary expenses and a higher total cost of ownership.
• Industrial PC: Higher initial cost because of its reliable and durable design. However, requires fewer repairs and maintenance during operation.

Advantage of an industrial PC: Reliable operation minimizes revenue loss from downtime and ensures compatibility with original machines.
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About us

Eurocoin has developed great expertise as a procurement & supply chain specialist in its field, purchasing technical products and components from world-class producers around the world, then assembling, configuring, warehousing and supplying parts and finished solutions from its European operations. This has enabled competitive pricing, shortened lead-times and efficient distribution ' great news for Eurocoin's growing European client base.

Our products include the widest range of TFT display & touch-screens, currency validation, ticketing and roll-printer solutions, and a catalogue of consumables and after-sales products to support our markets.

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Our customers are typically manufacturers and operators of payment terminals, kiosks, public-access and industrial terminals, retail & ticketing solutions, gambling, amusement & vending machines, plus the latest generation of 'smart' devices in multiple industrial sectors.

Industrial PC's have become a central component on the manufacturing floor, why risk costly downtime with a PC that is not industrial grade?

Industrial PC's perform diverse tasks from enabling you to run powerful automation software, to controlling complex processes and applications, including logistics systems, data acquisition, image processing and networking, all with speed, efficiency and reliability.

An industrial PC is similar to a commercial PC in terms of receiving, storing and processing information to perform a sequence of operations, based on the instruction of a program or software. The hardware components are also similar: motherboard, CPU, RAM, expansion slots, storage media etc.

However, Industrial PC's differ from consumer PC's in terms of ruggedness, reliability, performance, compatibility, expandability and long-term availability.

Mechanical Stability & Ruggedness

Industrial PC's are designed to excel in harsh, aggressive and dirty environments. Operating in tough conditions, industrial PC's can withstand many factors:

• Shock and Vibration: High levels of vibration can wreak havoc with commercial PC's. Industrial PC's can maintain performance while being subjected to continuous vibration. Beckhoff industrial PC's can tolerate high shock 5G and high vibrations 0.5G ~5m/s.
• High Temperatures: Excessive heat can affect performance and hardware lifespan. Commercial PC's are recommended to operate in a temperature range of around 30-35°, whereas an industrial PC can operate in temperatures of around 55°C.
• Dirt and Humidity: Cooling fans are essential to regulating the heat of a PC and keeping dust and dirt out. Cooling fans in industrial PC's have special filters and undergo rigorous testing to ensure clean air flow and direct internal cooling. A commercial PC isn't intended to operate in these conditions.
• IP Rating: Industrial PC's offer IP protection, whereas commercial PC's don't. Beckhoff industrial PC's offer protection against contaminants to IP65 as standard on all displays, for dust and water resistance. Aluminium and Stainless Steel options are also available.
• Electromagnetic Interference: EMI is common in industrial industries with large machines and motors. EMI causes communication failures between equipment, and voltage spikes that degrade components over time. Industrial PC design ensures robust isolation and stabilised voltages.

Performance & Reliability

Industrial PC's enable you to run powerful automaton software, control complex applications and electrical systems with maximum reliability and high performance. Operational efficiency can be substantially improved by choosing technologies and that equipment that have been developed to perform in harsh environments.

Typical industrial conditions affect equipment reliability, and ultimately the efficiency and productivity of operations. Sustained and reliable operation is important to avoid costly down-time. The rugged construction of Industrial PC's, plus provisions for mounting into the required environment and high grade power supply, support uninterrupted operations.

Expandability & Long-Term Availability

The ease and cost of repair or replacement over the life of the PC is another consideration. Industrial PC's are more expandable than commercial PC's to support the ever-changing nature of innovation, and to continue supporting legacy applications that can run for 5 or 10 years, long after commercial components are no longer available. Upgrades and the availability of spare parts is a minimal issue with long-standing, reputable industrial suppliers.

Cost of Ownership

Cost considerations go beyond the initial investment. Although an industrial PC requires a greater investment upfront, overtime the total cost of ownership is much lower when compared to the cost of regularly repairing or replacing commercial PC's that aren't suitable and can't endure the rigorous demands of industrial use.

High-End Design & High-End Performance

We've worked with Beckhoff to create a selection of bundled PC packages, making it easy for you to choose an industrial PC solution.

The Multi-Touch Panel PC's are designed for installation in the front of a control cabinet (CP22xx) or on a mounting arm system (CP32xx). The Control Cabinet PC's are designed for space-saving control cabinet installations. Aluminium and Stainless Steel display options are also included.

Contact our friendly Customer Service Team on 94 15 32 or [ protected] to learn more, or for a quote.

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